President Trump said he will likely meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. Trump spoke with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately about immediate discussions to end the war between the two countries.

Speaking at a NATO meeting in Belgium, the defense secretary said the U.S. would no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship with its allies.

The mutual-defense alliance has been central to Ukraine’s war against Russia, but the future is uncertain with President Trump back in office.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he did not think it was practical for Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine will get back all of its land. Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy,

Speaking at a defence summit in Brussels, Hegseth said the US would no longer "tolerate an imbalanced relationship" with its allies and called on Nato members to spend much more on defence. He also said it was "unrealistic" to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders and downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says European members of NATO should take the primary role in the defense of Europe. "The begins with increasing defense spending," Hegseth said from NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.